Calderon urges U.S. to reinstate assault weapons ban

[petros]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican President Felipe Calderon urged on Thursday to reinstate a ban on assault weapons to help cut cross-border gun smuggling and reduce drug gang violence for its southern neighbor.

In a speech to a joint session of Congress, Calderon described efforts to fight organized crime in Mexico, where 23,000 people have been killed in drug violence since he came to power in late 2006 and launched an army offensive.
Washington is also aiding Mexico's battle against drug gangs with a 2007 pledge of $1.4 billion for equipment and police training to help fight the cartels that ship some $40 billion worth of illegal drugs north each year.
The drug violence has become a major political test for Calderon and a growing worry for Washington and foreign investors as violence has spread across the southwest border.

"There is one issue where Mexico needs your cooperation. And that is stopping the flow of assault weapons and other deadly arms across the border," Calderon said to a standing ovation from U.S. lawmakers.
Calderon said the increase in violence in Mexico had coincided with the 2004 lifting of a U.S. assault weapons ban.

The 10-year ban on the assault weapons to civilians expired without being extended by Congress. Attorney General Eric Holder has said the administration favors reinstituting the ban, though guns rights groups oppose it.
Calderon said he respects Americans' Second Amendment right to bear arms but said many of the guns are getting into the hands of criminals.


More here: Calderon urges U.S. to reinstate assault weapons ban - Yahoo! News

 

[YukonJack]

Calderon is the typical bad neighbour described in post #513 in the "Arizona's Immigration Law" thread.

 

[petros]

I agree.

 

[sombraa110]

Calderon is right in certain aspects, but he must do something too in order to change the Mexico people doesn't want to live in.

 

[Bar Sinister]

He may be right to a certain extent. The largest source of illegal weapons in Canada is the USA. Apparently Mexico suffers from the same problem.

 

[Colpy]

He may be right to a certain extent. The largest source of illegal weapons in Canada is the USA. Apparently Mexico suffers from the same problem.

Of course, It would be lovely if the Americans came to Canada and insisted we dispose of the Charter because some part of it was making the Americans lives a little uncomfortable.

Canada is a very peaceful kingdom, with a very low murder rate. If you could magically eliminate every gun in the country, the murder rate would probably drop.....a very little bit.

There is no freedom without risk.

And, BTW, the weapons I see being used in Mexico's drug wars are often full auto kalishnikovs....not made or sold in the USA anyway, but available throughout the world at discount prices. The idea that crushing American civil rights would lessen the ability of Mexican drug lords to arm their private armies, despite the availibility of hundreds of millions of dollars, is simply idiotic.

The USA should politely tell the President of Mexico to keep his nose out of the Bill of Rights.

 

[Bar Sinister]

The idea that crushing American civil rights would lessen the ability of Mexican drug lords to arm their private armies, despite the availibility of hundreds of millions of dollars, is simply idiotic.

The USA should politely tell the President of Mexico to keep his nose out of the Bill of Rights.

So far as I can see the issue has nothing to do with the rights of Americans. What it is all about is preventing the shipment of illegal arms to other nations. If guns bought in the US end up in Mexico or Canada due to slack US gun laws then that is an international problem that only the US can solve as neither Canada nor Mexico has any control over how guns are sold in the US. As such there is nothing wrong with the president of Mexico asking the US government to restrict illegal sales of guns to arms smugglers.

 

[Colpy]

So far as I can see the issue has nothing to do with the rights of Americans. What it is all about is preventing the shipment of illegal arms to other nations. If guns bought in the US end up in Mexico or Canada due to slack US gun laws then that is an international problem that only the US can solve as neither Canada nor Mexico has any control over how guns are sold in the US. As such there is nothing wrong with the president of Mexico asking the US government to restrict illegal sales of guns to arms smugglers.

Absolutely!

But that is not what he asked.....he asked the United States specifically to reinstate a law preventing sales of certain types of weapons to all Americans..........weapons that they have every right to own.

 

[FiveParadox]

Absolutely!

But that is not what he asked.....he asked the United States specifically to reinstate a law preventing sales of certain types of weapons to all Americans..........weapons that they have every right to own.

The fact that Americans have ‘every right to own’ bloody assault weapons says enough.

 

[Colpy]

The fact that Americans have ‘every right to own’ bloody assault weapons says enough.

Yep...it does.

Must be nice to live in a free country, with a real Bill of Rights...

:lol:I'm a troll.....I'm soooo ashamed.... NOT!